Asked by County Attorney Russ Burrell for nominations, Commissioner Grady Hawkins suggested the chair go to Commissioner Larry Young, who has served on the board for 11 years.

“He’s served this community and the board for many years and I think he has the qualities to be a good leader, and I hope we get the support from the other members of the board,” Hawkins said.

“With no disrespect to Mr. Young — he’s been a fine commissioner — but I would say Mr. Messer has done a tremendous job this past year and I would nominate him,” said Commissioner Mike Edney.

Messer received three votes — his own, Edney’s and Thompson’s — while Young got Hawkins’ vote and his own, with Hawkins adding, “I’m sorry we can only count to three on a rotation.”

That effectively ended a discussion that began Nov. 4 about whether the chairmanship should rotate between all five commissioners.

Under current North Carolina law, the board elects its leadership positions at the first meeting in December. Messer, Thompson and Edney have served as chairman over the past three years.

But Hawkins and Young had supported rotating the chair sequentially through all five districts, assuming commissioners had been on board long enough to learn the ropes — at least one or two years.

Although Hawkins initially pushed the idea of allowing the chair to be elected by voters countywide, it would have required a statutory change by the N.C. Legislature, which no commissioner seemed to embrace. So Hawkins floated the idea of making rotation a board policy, which Young supported.

Hawkins said that allowing every commissioner a chance to chair the board would improve continuity and communication, pointing to the structure of other organizations in which vice chairs ascend to chairs.

“If you’re going to be the chair next year, there’s more of tendency to cooperate and keep on top of things if you know what’s coming down the pike,” Hawkins said last month.

However, Messer, Edney and Thompson repeatedly expressed their satisfaction with the status quo. After winning re-election, Messer nominated Thompson to a second term as vice chairman. The nomination passed by a 5-0 vote.

Later in the meeting, Hawkins announced that he would be attending all agenda meetings held the Tuesday before the official commissioners’ meetings. Historically, agenda meetings have been attended by county staff, the chair and vice chair.

Hawkins’ declaration sparked a lively debate, with Messer pointing out that any gathering of three or more commissioners constitutes an official meeting subject to public notification under open meetings laws. Messer said he “doesn’t have anything to hide,” but worried about the extra work that would put on staff.

Edney asked Burrell if action could be taken by the three commissioners at the agenda meetings, and was informed it could. He asked Burrell to bring back a set of amended board procedures that would prevent that from occurring.

Asked why he wanted to attend the agenda meetings, Hawkins said he’s had to pull a number of agenda items over the last year from the “consent agenda” — an agenda that includes numerous routine actions not needing debate by commissioners — to the “discussion agenda.”

“And a lot of them I thought needed further discussion, that maybe should’ve been over in the discussion portion than in the consent agenda,” he said. “And I think the public has an interest in those things and we ought to discuss them.”

In other business, commissioners selected William G. Lapsley & Associates as the most qualified engineering firm to design plans for grading and readying the former fairgrounds site on Mills Street in East Flat Rock for possible industrial development.

Elkamet Inc.’s plastic molding plant sits on nearly 9 acres of the old fairgrounds, but another 15 acres is vacant. Andrew Tate, president of the Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development, said the commissioners’ vote will help by “making (the remaining acreage) more marketable and shovel-ready for the next client.”

Tate said the Partnership has been “in communication with more than one company that is paying attention to what is happening” at the former fairgrounds.

Last month, the Partnership secured a $175,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission that will allow the county to grade and develop the old fairgrounds site, which once was eyed for a new elementary school before soil contamination became a concern.

In the past, fire departments had used the site to ignite flammable liquids as part of their training, Tate said, some of which inadvertently leached into soils on a portion of the property. After much remediation, state officials said last year that “no further action (was) required” to meet health and safety thresholds, he said.

Lapsley & Associates has worked on planning, engineering and development of the Sierra Nevada brewery in Mills River, as well as the Broadpointe and Ferncliff industrial parks. In a proposal to the county, Lapsley said they’ll seek to grade the fairgrounds to provide maximum flexibility and useable acreage for future occupants.

<p>County commissioners put an end to discussions about whether to rotate the chairman's position through all five board members, voting to rename Charlie Messer as their chairman Monday.</p><p>Tommy Thompson was re-elected vice chairman during the hour-long organizational meeting.</p><p>Asked by County Attorney Russ Burrell for nominations, Commissioner Grady Hawkins suggested the chair go to Commissioner Larry Young, who has served on the board for 11 years.</p><p>“He's served this community and the board for many years and I think he has the qualities to be a good leader, and I hope we get the support from the other members of the board,” Hawkins said.</p><p>“With no disrespect to Mr. Young — he's been a fine commissioner — but I would say Mr. Messer has done a tremendous job this past year and I would nominate him,” said Commissioner Mike Edney.</p><p>Messer received three votes — his own, Edney's and Thompson's — while Young got Hawkins' vote and his own, with Hawkins adding, “I'm sorry we can only count to three on a rotation.”</p><p>That effectively ended a discussion that began Nov. 4 about whether the chairmanship should rotate between all five commissioners.</p><p>Under current North Carolina law, the board elects its leadership positions at the first meeting in December. Messer, Thompson and Edney have served as chairman over the past three years.</p><p>But Hawkins and Young had supported rotating the chair sequentially through all five districts, assuming commissioners had been on board long enough to learn the ropes — at least one or two years.</p><p>Although Hawkins initially pushed the idea of allowing the chair to be elected by voters countywide, it would have required a statutory change by the N.C. Legislature, which no commissioner seemed to embrace. So Hawkins floated the idea of making rotation a board policy, which Young supported.</p><p>Hawkins said that allowing every commissioner a chance to chair the board would improve continuity and communication, pointing to the structure of other organizations in which vice chairs ascend to chairs.</p><p>“If you're going to be the chair next year, there's more of tendency to cooperate and keep on top of things if you know what's coming down the pike,” Hawkins said last month.</p><p>However, Messer, Edney and Thompson repeatedly expressed their satisfaction with the status quo. After winning re-election, Messer nominated Thompson to a second term as vice chairman. The nomination passed by a 5-0 vote.</p><p>Later in the meeting, Hawkins announced that he would be attending all agenda meetings held the Tuesday before the official commissioners' meetings. Historically, agenda meetings have been attended by county staff, the chair and vice chair.</p><p>Hawkins' declaration sparked a lively debate, with Messer pointing out that any gathering of three or more commissioners constitutes an official meeting subject to public notification under open meetings laws. Messer said he “doesn't have anything to hide,” but worried about the extra work that would put on staff.</p><p>Edney asked Burrell if action could be taken by the three commissioners at the agenda meetings, and was informed it could. He asked Burrell to bring back a set of amended board procedures that would prevent that from occurring. </p><p>Asked why he wanted to attend the agenda meetings, Hawkins said he's had to pull a number of agenda items over the last year from the “consent agenda” — an agenda that includes numerous routine actions not needing debate by commissioners — to the “discussion agenda.” </p><p>“And a lot of them I thought needed further discussion, that maybe should've been over in the discussion portion than in the consent agenda,” he said. “And I think the public has an interest in those things and we ought to discuss them.”</p><p>In other business, commissioners selected William G. Lapsley & Associates as the most qualified engineering firm to design plans for grading and readying the former fairgrounds site on Mills Street in East Flat Rock for possible industrial development.</p><p>Elkamet Inc.'s plastic molding plant sits on nearly 9 acres of the old fairgrounds, but another 15 acres is vacant. Andrew Tate, president of the Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development, said the commissioners' vote will help by “making (the remaining acreage) more marketable and shovel-ready for the next client.”</p><p>Tate said the Partnership has been “in communication with more than one company that is paying attention to what is happening” at the former fairgrounds.</p><p>Last month, the Partnership secured a $175,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission that will allow the county to grade and develop the old fairgrounds site, which once was eyed for a new elementary school before soil contamination became a concern.</p><p>In the past, fire departments had used the site to ignite flammable liquids as part of their training, Tate said, some of which inadvertently leached into soils on a portion of the property. After much remediation, state officials said last year that “no further action (was) required” to meet health and safety thresholds, he said.</p><p>Lapsley & Associates has worked on planning, engineering and development of the Sierra Nevada brewery in Mills River, as well as the Broadpointe and Ferncliff industrial parks. In a proposal to the county, Lapsley said they'll seek to grade the fairgrounds to provide maximum flexibility and useable acreage for future occupants.</p><p>Reach Axtell at 828-694-7860 or than.axtell@blueridgenow.com.</p>